The internet is a tricky place. Once you’ve mastered one social medium realm, it seems like another one pops up. Each having its own learning curve and schematics. The important thing to understand, however, is which ones matter to your business and your brand. Because the truth is, you don’t (and shouldn’t) have to be… Read more »

May 13, 2018

By Cam Vacek - Guest Contributor

The internet is a tricky place.

Once you’ve mastered one social medium realm, it seems like another one pops up. Each having its own learning curve and schematics.

The important thing to understand, however, is which ones matter to your business and your brand. Because the truth is, you don’t (and shouldn’t) have to be on all social media platforms.

By the same token, there are several places that are far too underutilized by businesses that they need to pay attention to.

Google Reviews

In order of importance, I would rank Google as one of the first places you should prioritize. Why you may ask?

It affects your SEO. Going back to point #1 about Google being the most used searched engine, you want to rank well. In fact, reviews on Google currently account for 8.3% of the weight on your algorithm of your placement.

What often happens is that pages are left unclaimed (not good) or claimed and updated with information but not managed (not good, either). When I say “managed” I simply mean to ensure that your contact information, hours, etc. stay up to date AND you have oversight of your reviews.

One simple thing you can start doing is responding to all the reviews (good or bad) and then encourage people to start writing honest reviews there for you. Let the good ones encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing and the bad ones to humble you towards improvement.

Glassdoor

Where Linkedin works to highlight individuals, Glassdoor highlights companies. It is a place for people to put honest reviews about working at a company, reviews on the interview process, and post salaries anonymously.

Much like any social media site, it behooves you to “claim” your page or set up your page so you have a bit more control on your brand messaging. It’s crazy to me how many companies have yet to still do this.

Among those companies who have, many still aren’t taking the opportunity acknowledge or respond to the reviews- both good and bad.

I’ve seen pages where employers don’t respond at all (bad), respond with a generic message (better), or respond with a personalized message (best). Be the company that responds with a thoughtful, personal response. Current and prospective employees who are diligent and thorough (read: the type you want) are taking notice and probably prefer companies that say “we value feedback” while living by those values.

NextDoor

In some areas of the country, people are still catching on to the idea of Nextdoor. Businesses that want to stay ahead of the curve are jumping on board.

I specifically think this works best for B2C services and more specifically, household services. So to all the home builders, electricians, plumbers, landscapers, handymen, and home service providers…Nextdoor is where you need to be at. This expands further to other “family” services such as dentists, dance studios, tutors, or restaurants.

You can claim your page and set it up with the correct information reflecting your business. The great thing about doing so is that when someone recommends your business, they can tag their recommendation and it then permanently becomes tied to your business page.

(Nextdoor presents also a great opportunity for the budding entrepreneur whether it’s through providing babysitting services, lawn care, or snow shoveling.)

Conclusion

If any of these were not on your radar, perhaps it’s time to consider the possibility of potential missed opportunities including recruiting prospective employees or growing through more word-of-mouth reviews.

You have far too many emerging, savvy competitors. This is one more way to outsmart and stay ahead.